Zolkopli Dahlan, a former director-general of the implementation coordination unit of the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD), has been named chairman of the independent oversight commission for police conduct.
Jazamuddin Ahmad Nawawi, who formerly helmed the PMD’s advisory board, has been named deputy chairman of IPCC.
Former MACC senior director Tan Kang Sai, former Bukit Aman logistics and technology department deputy director Shukri Abdullah, and former national audit department (financial sector) director Martina @ Kartina Zamhari were announced as IPCC members.
The IPCC is authorised to handle matters related to complaints and investigations into alleged police misconduct. It will also advise the government on matters related to the police force’s integrity.
The original Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill was tabled in Parliament by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2019, but was heavily criticised because the commission would have lacked sufficient powers to act on complaints.
In 2020, the IPCC was introduced to replace the IPCMC, with the bill – which critics describe as a watered-down version of the IPCMC Bill – passed in July 2022 by Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.
Asked about two other vacant slots, Saifuddin said the ministry is headhunting the right candidates with the necessary expertise and stellar records in their respective services.
“Although there are seven slots, five people can start their work. The two remaining slots will be filled as we go along,” he said in a media conference today.
Saifuddin said the commission has the prerogative to kickstart an investigation in the public interest without referring to any party or report.
It will then make a recommendation to the police force commission on the action that should be taken against police officers who break the law.
Saifuddin added that the law also makes it mandatory for the police to refer cases involving sex crimes and death in custody to the IPCC.
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